As I reflected on everything, a dull ache pulsed in my chest.

I quickly pulled my hand away from Sebastian's grasp. He looked surprised.

I thought about Sebastian's grandfather, Wayne Chesson. Over the years, he hadn't allowed me back into the Chesson residence, but he'd never forced Sebastian to divorce me either.

I figured that I should at least see him before the divorce. So, I nodded and said, "Alright."

But on Wayne's birthday, Sebastian texted me, "Something came up. Just grab a cab to the house."

It was pouring, and cabs were impossible to find. I stood in the rain for an hour. By the time I arrived at the Chesson residence, the other guests were already there.

As soon as I stepped inside, Liam walked over with his signature sneer. He remarked, "You're even late to Mr. Chesson Senior's birthday party. No wonder the Chesson family's never accepted you."

He chuckled, full of malice. "Roxanne showed up early, holding hands with Sebastian, by the way. What a picture-perfect couple. Seriously, how can you even compare?"

So that was why we couldn't leave together. Sebastian had gone to pick up Roxanne.

However, I felt nothing. It was as if I had gone numb.

I ignored Liam and gracefully approached Wayne, wishing him, "Happy birthday."

Sebastian knocked the gift box right out of my hand in irritation. He snapped, "I already got him something."

He probably thought I had brought something cheap and embarrassing.

I calmly picked up the box, opened it, and took out a handwritten herbal recipe. "It's a wellness formula that's been passed down through my family."

Roxanne burst out laughing. "Why did you give that? Please, Mr. Chesson Senior wouldn't dare touch it."

But Wayne took it, scanned the page, and his eyes lit up. "This is excellent. How thoughtful of you."

Roxanne's face twisted into something ugly as she clutched her chest dramatically. Sebastian panicked, scooped her up in his arms, and carried her upstairs.

I could feel the guests' eyes on me as they mocked me, "I thought Sebastian was head over heels for his wife. But it doesn't seem like it now."

"Please. She's probably just clinging to him so he won't divorce her."

"Honestly, she's got the looks and the elegance. She's not at all the low-class woman people say she is."

Once, words like that would have hurt me. Now, I just picked up some pastries and quietly ate in the corner.

Midway through the party, Sebastian approached me. "Why did you bring a gift for Grandpa?"

I glanced at him and noticed the lipstick stain on his collar and the scratch marks on his neck.

Suddenly, I wasn't hungry anymore. I set the plate down. "You never told me you already prepared something."

Sebastian said nothing. He simply looked down and froze. Then, he grabbed my hand and asked, "Where's the ring? You haven't taken it off in ten years."

I pulled my hand away and glanced at the faint mark on my ring finger. "It must've fallen off."

In truth, I'd buried that ring—the one Sebastian gave me when he was 22, brimming with love—deep in the mountains.

As for his own wedding ring, he had lost it years ago and never bothered to replace it. So, he just stopped wearing any wedding ring at all.

His expression turned stormy. "Then wear the diamond ring I gave you three years ago."

I reminded him, "You gave that to Roxanne after she said she liked it. Did you forget?"

"I'll take you to buy a new one tomorrow," he said, grabbing my wrist with apparent frustration.

"Tessa, why do you have to make this so hard? I didn't know you were in the mountains then. And besides, you didn't die, did you?"

I almost laughed. Then I looked him straight in the eye. "Have I caused a single scene since I returned?"

It was the fact that I hadn't that unsettled him. He couldn't explain why it made him nervous.

Just then, the "pain" in Roxanne's chest seemed to have miraculously cured. She ran over and wrapped her arms around him from behind.

"Mr. Chesson," she purred. "I'm craving garlic butter shrimp."

Sebastian looked at me. He knew that it was my signature dish.

I used to prepare his lunch every day. I guessed those meals ended up in Roxanne's stomach. I wasn't surprised to learn that. I just sat there, numb.

But even my silence seemed to offend him. His tone sharpened, cold and commanding as he said, "Tessa, go make that dish for Rox."

I only learned to cook three years ago.

It was always Sebastian who cooked before he returned to the Chesson residence. He used to say that my hands were meant to heal people, and were too precious to be scarred by cooking oil. He said he loved the scent of herbs on me and didn't want me smelling like grease.

And now, he wanted me to cook for Roxanne.

My chest felt tight. It was like I couldn't breathe. I opened my mouth and sucked in a deep breath.

As I looked at Roxanne and Sebastian, wrapped around each other, I smiled and said, "Okay."

I still remembered how he carried me out of a burning building on his back 12 years ago. But the moment I lit the stove in the kitchen, whatever affection remained went up in flames, too.

He leaned against the doorframe and said apologetically, "Sorry. Rox's has always had a poor appetite, but she really likes your cooking."

My hands froze for a moment. My arm, which had just begun to recover, was starting to ache. I couldn't believe that he was apologizing to his wife for another woman.

Sebastian stepped closer, gently brushing my hair back. "Hadn't you always wanted to visit Newland? I'll take you at the end of the month."

Men always seemed nicer when they'd done something wrong. I remembered that. In the early years of our marriage, when Sebastian and I had no money, we dreamed about traveling together.

Then, when we finally had money, he always said that he was too busy. But over the past three years, he'd traveled the world with Roxanne, his secretary.

I didn't say anything for a long while. Eventually, I just nodded.

That trip was a promise between me and the man who once loved me. I wanted to see it through. But once again, he let me down.

…

I waited at the gate until the plane took off. It was only then that he called me.

"Tess, Rox's scared of thunder. I have to stay with her. We'll go to Newland next time, okay?"

I could hear Roxanne's voice in the background, saying, "Mr. Chesson, where did you put the pads you bought me?"

He chuckled. "Silly woman, they're in the cabinet in the bathroom."

I heard the shuffle of slippers, then the sound of a loud smacking kiss. Roxanne giggled. "A kiss to thank my Mr. Chesson!"

Sebastian sounded helpless as he said, "You're not a kid anymore. So stop acting like one. Go change. I'll make you some lemon tea."

I walked out of the airport into the downpour, dragging my suitcase behind me, letting the rain soak me to the bone.

My voice sounded distant and cold, like raindrops tapping on a stone surface. "I got it."

He then seemed to realize that the call hadn't ended. His voice turned rough as he said, "Tess, I'll bring back some roasted chicken—your favorite."

"No need," I curtly said before hanging up on the call.

My vision blurred. I couldn't tell whether it was from my tears or the rain. I used to be afraid of thunder, too. But for the past three years, I'd been alone every stormy night. As such, I wasn't afraid anymore.

When my cramps were so bad that I fainted during my period, Sebastian just said, "Does it hurt that much? Or are you faking it?"

Sometimes, he'd mock me, saying, "You bleed every month but can never get pregnant."

I guessed I never should've kept quiet about his low sperm count.

I placed my hand over my flat belly and thought of the child I lost—the one it took so much to conceive. I collapsed in the rain.

My best friend, Sheryl Jacobson, pulled up in her car, cursing as she jumped out.

"Sebastian's a damn jerk. He's changed after becoming rich. You're barely a month past a miscarriage, and he's already putting you through hell. Does he have any conscience?"

Fearing Sheryl might erupt with anger, I quickly tried to calm her down. "Don't mention him. After the divorce, he'll just be a stranger."

She snorted coldly. "Damn right. Once you leave him, let him rot. You should take that sexy younger guy who's been flirting with you and ride off into the sunset. Sebastian's 32. I bet he's already useless in bed."

I was speechless when I heard her remarks.

Sheryl dropped me off and handed me the divorce papers. "The sooner you're out of this marriage, the better."

But Sebastian didn't come home for two whole months. When he finally did, he was carefully helping Roxanne through the door.

Roxanne looked at me, her smile smug. "Tessa, I'm pregnant. Mr. Chesson was worried, so he insisted I stay here to rest."

My phone slipped from my hand and shattered on the floor.

Sebastian picked it up. "Actually—"

But Roxanne cut him off with a dramatic yelp as she clutched her belly. She whined, "Mr. Chesson, it hurts."

"Tess, I bought roasted chicken for you," he muttered before scooping Roxanne up and rushing into the master bedroom.

As I walked past her, I heard her whisper tauntingly, "All cluck, no eggs."

I opened the takeout bag to find the roasted chicken stone-cold, a greasy white film sticking to it. That cold, congealed chicken looked just like our broken relationship.

From upstairs, Sebastian shouted, "Tess, make some oatmeal. Rox's craving it."

When I brought the oatmeal up, I deliberately spilled it all over him.

Roxanne cried out, her voice full of hurt, "Tess, if you're mad, take it out on me. Don't hurt Mr. Chesson!"

"It's fine," Sebastian said, flustered, trying to wipe off the mess. "My clothes are thick and absorbed most of the spill. I'm not hurt."

While he was distracted, I opened the divorce agreement to the signature page and handed it to him. "Your assistant dropped off some documents just now and said that you need to sign."

This kind of thing had happened before. He didn't think twice and just signed it before walking into the bathroom to clean himself up.

Hearing the sound of running water from the bathroom, Roxanne dropped her innocent act and said sarcastically, "Tessa, you're already 30. Why don't you get a divorce already?

"Do you know what Mr. Chesson says about you? He says you smell old and that you nauseate him.

"On the other hand, he says that I have skin like porcelain and smell amazing. I'm only 20, after all."

I'd heard things like this before.

Back then, I had a high fever and was so out of it that I asked Sebastian to carry me to the hospital. Instead, he threw me on the floor and said, "Stop faking sick for attention. You're built like a damn ox. How could you be sick? You're not as young as Rox. Act your age.

"My grandpa never liked you anyway, so stop making things worse."

I wasn't as young and supple as Roxanne.

"Roxanne, do you think being a mistress makes you superior?" I slipped the divorce papers into my coat and laughed coldly.

"Did you forget that when you were about to be married off in the mountains for a bride price, sick and half-dead, it was me who saved you?"

Roxanne's face turned cold. "If you're really that kind, then you should help me all the way. That means giving up Mr. Chesson, too."

That twisted logic told me everything I needed to know. Roxanne had been rotten from the start.

I turned to leave, but she suddenly grabbed my hand and slid off the bed, crying out, "Ah! My stomach! It hurts!"

Sebastian rushed in, yanking me away so hard I hit the doorframe, splitting my forehead open. However, he didn't even look at me. All of his attention was on Roxanne. He asked panickedly, "Where does it hurt?"

She collapsed into his arms, crying miserably. "Mr. Chesson, I don't know why Tessa is so cruel… She hit my belly on purpose. She's trying to kill our baby. Maybe I should just die instead."

He gently patted her back and coaxed her softly.

Then, he turned to me, eyes blazing. "Tessa, how could you be so vicious? You used to be so kind that you even treated injured stray cats and dogs. Did you forget you're a traditional healer? Where are your medical ethics?"

I pressed a hand to the bleeding gash on my forehead, the dizziness almost knocking me out. Looking at his face made me want to throw up.

I didn't bother explaining. "Yeah. I'm vicious."

I then turned and went to the guest room to pack my belongings.

When Sebastian saw me packing, he kicked the suitcase open. "Are you running away just because you screwed up?"

"I have a patient in the next city," I lied. I casually added, "Sebastian, let's get a divorce."

"No way!" He shoved me against the wall and kissed me like a starving dog gnawing on a bone, desperate to consume me.

His bite split my lip. The taste of blood filled my mouth. I shoved him away with all my strength and slapped him. "Are you insane?"

He clutched his face, his expression gloomy. "Yeah, maybe I am. Tessa, I told you that we're married for life. Don't say stuff like that.

"You keep pushing this, and it stops being funny. Your parents are dead. Where could you even go? And besides, you love me so much that you can't leave me."

The certainty in his voice was the biggest insult to our ten-year marriage.

My heart felt like it had been stabbed. Tears spilled down my cheeks as I looked at him in disgust.

He stared at me like he was searching for something. Then he suddenly looked panicked as soon as he'd realized it.

The light in my eyes was gone.

"Tessa, why do you want a divorce? Is it because of Rox? I've said it many times—she's just like a younger sister to me.

"And you're the one who took her to that mountain area. That's how she got caught in the earthquake. Aren't you done being mad yet after hitting a pregnant woman?"

I was tired of hearing the same thing over and over again. He had hurt me too many times with his words.

I said carelessly, "Maybe I was always just a toxic woman."

Just then, my phone lit up with a message on the bed. My heart sank. Was that rogue texting again?

Sebastian picked it up and glanced at the screen, frowning.

"Why are you talking to my grandfather? He replied, 'Got it.' What's that supposed to mean?"

I let out a breath of relief. A divorce agreement alone wouldn't be enough if Sebastian refused to let go. But if Wayne got involved, this paper would be all I needed to walk away for good.

Sebastian's eyes landed on the papers tucked in my jacket. "Why do you still have those documents? Don't tell me you tricked me into signing the divorce papers."

He reached for them. My heart skipped, and I quickly grabbed his hand.